Golden Ascension
by Redred33mer
Summary: A/U - After the attack of Bojack, life resumes as normal for the Z-Fighters. But "Vegeta hasn't been the same since Goku died (Bulma, Bojack Unbound)," and puberty is a part of everyone's life, even Gohan's. How far can these Saiyans ascend when other pressures of life weigh on them?
1. Chapter 1

So this will be my second story on Fanfic. It is unlikely more than two chapters of this will get out in the coming days, and others in the coming weeks as I do have many things to do. If you like this, check my other story called "Reaching Higher." R&R, please. It'll help get attention and spread greatness. There's also another Author's Note at the end that will make sense of why I make the characters in this (Gohan & Vegeta) the way they are.

* * *

**Chapter One: Inferiority Complex**

_"Any last words before you die?"_

_"Actually, Bojack, there is one word that comes to mind. __**Kamehameha!**__"_

_"__**Aaaaaaggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh!**__"_

* * *

The threat of Bojack had passed. A world martial arts tournament on the scale of the one that had happened would surely never be seen again after the recent disaster. However, the traditional world tournament stage's rebuilding had received a generous donation from Mr. Satan, the supposed two time savior of the world. But that didn't matter to Gohan now. The world was safe again, he had reached heights like never before, and stood as the strongest in the known universe. It was time to enjoy the green grass fields around him, or the pure blue sky above him. While he could at least. It wouldn't be long until his mother called him in to study as she looked for a school to send the young hero to.

"Gohan, time for lunch! Then you have to go study!" Chi-Chi called out to her older son. She carried Goten in her arms, only one years old and still notably strong for an infant.

"Okay, mom," Gohan obeyed begrudgingly. "_It's always about studying, I haven't even seen Tien, Yamcha, Bulma and her son, Krillin, Piccolo or even Dende,_" he thought, slowly walking back to the house. He yawned as he finally reached his home's door. He could hear the screams of a hungry Goten, and was reluctant to enter. However, he willed himself to deal with the aggravation that he could only guess at.

"_Gohan, why don't you get a job? We could use the extra money. Gohan, could you take care of your brother while I go into town? Gohan, you should be studying, academics get you furthest on Earth. Gohan, you should be looking for a school because you have to go it. Gohan, stop going through the window, I swear I'll put bars on that thing if you do it again and we'll be living in a prison! Gohan, the way you're acting you're shaping up to be a delinquent._" Gohan knew his mother wasn't a terrible person, but her demands can be so erratic to him. But he willed himself into his home, facing the things he hated of his current lifestyle.

* * *

In West City, it was raining. The large Capsule Corp. building was rather quiet, with Trunks taking a nap and Bulma typing away on a computer, programming a 3-D printer for a prototype of a new product design. Her parents had gone out, and Vegeta sat in bed pondering the events of the battles with Cell and Bojack. He wore his Saiyan armor from the Cell Games, perhaps holding on to something greater than he was now. Time sood still for the Saiyan, at all times it seemed.

"_How could Kakarot give his life away so easily? How could he heave outclassed me, and his son too? Gohan has risen to such great heights that... it doesn't matter if I fight or not. He defeated Cell and Bojack, and I was carelessly discarded in both of those battlefields. I thought I could be useful... but I've become so... weak!_"

The air darkened with the fall of night, and Vegeta still hadn't bothered to move from his bed. Even at the call for dinner, he remained as motionless as stone. He hadn't eaten anything but breakfast that day, and even that was small for a Saiyan. Only four bowls of food, and without a word returned to his room. However, he heard a knock on the door to his room.

"What is it, Bulma?" Vegeta said crassly. The door opened, whether he wanted it to or not. And Bulma came to his bedside with a tray of some food for him.

"There's more food downstairs if you want it," she told him, setting it on a nightstand. To this, the prince simply grunted, shaking it off. "You know, Trunks has been wondering where you've been."

"That's not true, he's only two, I doubt he even knows how to talk right," he replied. Bulma got closer and put an arm around his shoulders.

"C'mon Vegeta... I wanna see you get out of bed... and I'm sure Trunks would love to see you too. Besides, there's more food. C'mon, Vegeta," she persuaded kindly.

"Get off of me, I don't need your help," he uttered, pushing her away a little. She turned to her filled with anger, and perhaps some confusion as well.

"I'm just trying to help you! I could be annoying you about how you sit around and do nothing all day and I still have to feed you, but I'd rather just see you get up out of bed! But if you want to be miserable all the time, then there's nothing I can do about it!" she yelled. With that, she turned her back and exited the room, slamming the door. It wasn't long after until Vegeta went out to the hall and to the balcony outside. He looked up at the sky as it was pouring rain, and began flying to somewhere, but he didn't know where exactly. Preferably somewhere away from society to dwell on himself for some time. Bulma looked out of a window from the first floor, watching the Saiyan prince fly away.

"I hope you come back, Vegeta," she murmured, Trunks playing with his grandfather behind him.

"Where's he going?" Mrs. Briefs asked her, in her usual high-pitched voice.

"Oh, I don't know... I think he's just used to being alone to sort things out, like after he first came to Earth or took the gravity chamber out into space, or even when he went into the Time Chamber alone. He just... I don't know."

* * *

Gohan held his baby brother in his arms after he finished his food. His mother was washing the numerous bowls of food Gohan ate from, and his brother wasn't crying anymore. He was reaching up to try and grab Gohan's hair or shirt.

"Alright, Gohan, I think you've spent enough time with your brother, you need to go to your room and study now," she told him.

"But mom, I always study a ton every day for hours, can't I take a break today?"

"No." The simple word struck confusion and a sense of anguish in him.

"What?"

"No. As soon as you take a day off you're sense of discipline's gonna be ruined, and when you do that you'll never study anything useful again, and then you'll end up in a worse gang than you already are in!" she falsely proposed.

"I'm not in a gang, mom-"

"A bunch of strong people that like beating other people up and fighting sounds like a gang to me."

"Yeah, I totally tried to go out and find people like Cell or Bojack to beat up. You got me there, mom!" he retorted sarcastically.

"Gohan, I am not in the mood for your smart remarks! Go to your room and open your books! I don't know why, but ever since Goku died you think you can do whatever you want, but that isn't the case!" she shouted. Gohan simply sighed and went to the doorway of his room.

"You're insane, mom," he said, walking into his room and shutting the door.

"Yeah, I'm insane. I'll show you insane-" Chi-Chi went on senselessly, it seemed to Gohan. Not wanting to deal with her ranting, he went to the window of his room and hopped out. He began flying away, faster as he grew further and further away so his mother wouldn't hear him. He went far into the forest, and sat down to meditate. He let his ideas freely roam in his head, jumping from one topic to the next before the idea of being an ascended Saiyan caught his attention.

"Maybe I can find a way to become an ascended Saiyan at will," he said to himself. He closed his eyes and began searching through his energy and powers. He found the easy route to Super Saiyan, and discovered the depths of that like his father, Vegeta and Trunks did in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, but this wasn't the same as a truly ascended Saiyan. It was a power-up, and he recognized it. Remembering what it felt like to ascend during the Cell Jr. attack or to defeat Bojack, he began looking for the path to enter that at will. "We have to find a way to stay make our Super Saiyan form seem natural to us," he remembered his father saying. But what heights could he reach if he did that with an ascended form?

* * *

"What am I doing?" Vegeta asked himself. "How can I train my son if I can hardly bear to see him or his mother? How am I to redeem myself?" There was a bit of silence as Vegeta looked up at the dark clouds above him. Thunder sounded and lightning stuck far away. There was a familiar loneliness similar to the one he met after his defeat with Android 18, as he stood in the middle of a rocky wasteland to sort his mind out as best he could.

"**How!**" he screamed, and his hair immediately turned golden with the aura of a Super Saiyan flaring up around him. His screams persisted as the rock under him began to crack, and he bulked not once, but twice as Trunks did against imperfect Cell. "There's one more level, one more!" he shouted, trying to reach the level an ascended Saiyan that his rival's son had. But as he tried, he could feel his body ripping apart, and unable to deal with the pain, he stopped. The golden aura became more calm as the size of his muscles receded.

"What's the trick? What am I missing?" He stood with his arms curled out some as he looked at his hands to ponder the solution of his inferiority. He looked out further along the horizon as he sensed a massive power he's only seen twice.

"That... that has to be Gohan. He's ascending... a half-breed and the son of low-level trash like him. How does he do it! Why can't I, the prince of all Saiyans do it! **Why!**"

* * *

A/N: So that's the end of the first chapter of Golden Ascension. As promised, I'll explain a few points I took into this as I wrote the first chapter.

So we see Gohan a little more resistant to his mother. Let's say Cell dies, a year later Bojack's encountered, and it's a year after that. We never see Gohan go through puberty, and typically, pubescent people are a little more short-tempered and extreme. Another thing you might say is that Gohan never trained during the seven years after Goku died. However, he does like to train, and that's seen when Chi-Chi tries to prohibit him from training various times and Gohan complains.

Vegeta is said to train the whole seven years Goku is absent. Well, I did put Bojack in this story's timeline, and Bulma does say in that movie that "Vegeta hasn't been the same since Goku died." And we hear some of the questions he asks himself after Cell dies, and we know the types of things he would ask concerning others' powers, like when Gohan slays Cell Jr's or when Goku fights as SSJ3, and again, after Cell dies.

I hope that would clear any questions you may have about the characterization of characters seen so far. The next chapter won't be out for another two weeks at least. But check out my other story, "Reaching Higher" if you like this!


	2. C2: Mental Games

Well everyone, I'm finally back from the national scout jamboree in the middle of nowhere, West Virginia. So I saw 3 reviews, which I'm genuinely happy to see. So I'll touch on the questions brought up there. And once again, if you question my writing style, please visit my other story called "Reaching Higher," the later chapters especially show my development as a fanfic writer.

Q: I saw drama as a category. Does that mean there will be no fighting?

A: It does not mean that. When I think of drama (and I'm fairly certain I don't have the definition right), I think of deeper character development. DBZ was about fighting, you can't take that away in a DBZ fanfic.

"Hopefully this will lead to a Gohan who continues to train." Well you already said that it didn't make sense that he doesn't continue training. Keep reading, and enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Two: Mental Games**

Gohan sat with his eyes closed cross-legged. It was rather silent, except for the chirping of birds. His hair was blonde, and arched i spikes similar to his fathers, having gone Super Saiyan. His button-up shirt was in a pile off to the side, and ominous black clouds loomed over him.

"You already have all the power you need," he remembered his father say. "Just bring it out." It was a matter of controlling the ascended state. He remembered the rage he felt at the pain of his friends, and the sweeping power that came when his father reminded him of his duty to protect the earth against Bojack. Remembering the rage, his hair began to become spiked upward and an electrical aura began flitting. But it eventually dropped, like when he originally tried to become Super Saiyan in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Yet he concentrated harder now, grunting as he scrunched his face. The sky became abnormally dark, and lightning began making paths from cloud to elsewhere. He stood up, letting his energy flow more freely.

* * *

Dende watched the darkened skies somewhat fearfully. It was awhile since he saw Gohan's power so high, and it was terrifyingly awesome. There was a lightning display he had not seen since the ascension of Trunks or Goku's first meeting with Cell. Footsteps could be heard behind Dende, and Piccolo came to the edge of the lookout with him.

"I wouldn't be worried about that, Dende. Gohan's just trying to understand the reaches of his power," Piccolo assured the young guardian.

"But what if he's battling a power we can't sense, like an even stronger android? Or a group of them?" he questioned doubtfully.

"Hmm, I hadn't thought about that," Piccolo acknowledged. He stared hard into the lightning storm judging whether they should do something or not. "Well, it can't hurt me if I do go down there," he said, taking a step forward as his cape waved behind him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Besides, it's been awhile since I've seen the kid."

* * *

Vegeta looked off into the distance as he sensed an increasingly high power. He recognized it, but he didn't understand why he would see it now. He looked in awe as his own power would seem to never rival the heights of his rival's son's. As he stood upon a rock pillar in his lonely wasteland, a feeling of jealous pride created anger in him. His hair flared gold as he screamed, a blinding light emanating from the Saiyan prince as the rocks below him shattered and fell to the ground. He looked off into the direction of Gohan's power and began speeding furiously toward it.

"I must... I must find out how. How have I become so useless?" Vegeta attacked himself, clenching his fists. He flew onwards, over the vast lands and ever-expansive skies.

"I don't understand. I came here to destroy the Earth and yet time after time Kakarot and his son have saved me."

* * *

Gohan kept concentrating on the rage he could almost feel once again, his hair spiked upwards still. However, he couldn't sustain it without trying to feel that rage, and he knew it. His hair dropped down again, and he reverted to his normal state. The lightning storm dissipated, and skies slowly started to become clear once again. He felt to high powers racing towards him, but regarded them lightly. They felt vaguely familiar, but he didn't know who exactly was approaching him.

"I'm sure mom's figured out I'm not home," he said to himself, sighing. He began to fly towards his dome of a house before he was startled by a deeper voice.

"Still training?" Piccolo asked, hovering far above the Saiyan halfbreed.

"Piccolo!" Gohan replied excitedly. He began to go hurriedly towards Piccolo but stopped. "Ugh..."

"What's wrong? Do I smell?" Piccolo joked.

"Well... it's just that I need to get home. I'm supposed to be studying and I'm sure my mom knows I'm not in the house," he said, his voice a little lower, having been caught where he's not supposed to be.

"Don't worry about it kid. You're growing into your own man. She can't hold on to you forever," the Saiyan's teacher told him.

"Would you mind coming back with me, Piccolo?" Gohan asked him.

"Ugh..." Piccolo uttered, startled as he wasn't in any rush to see Chi-Chi. "No. I came down here for Dende to see if anything was wrong. I don't think the Guardian of Earth would want me joining a social party," he finally answered. "But it was nice seeing you, kid. Keep training," he said somewhat lamely.

"Thanks, Piccolo," Gohan said to him. And after that, the Saiyan's mentor began to return to his place on Kami's Lookout. Gohan began his way back to his house again. Instead of going to the front door like he did earlier, he climbed through the window as quietly as he could and sat at his desk to begin studying again. It was relatively quiet for some time, until Chi-Chi broke the silence by opening the door slightly so that she could poke her head in.

"Hmph," she sounded, and then slammed the door shut.

"Yup. Still angry," he noted, turning back to his work. His pen moved across page after page, filling each up. Time actually passed in peace, but Gohan wasn't exactly at ease. Whatever powerful creature that was on Earth was headed straight towards him. And the moments passed uneasily. Eventually, he could hear someone descending next to his window, and looked to his right. It was a familiar face, but an odd occasion.

"Vegeta?" Gohan voiced. "I didn't think I'd see you in awhile-"

"Oh, shut up, that's not why I'm here," he interrupted, not wanting to get too sentimental with Gohan.

"Well... what is it?"

"I need to know... how did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Ascend." The topic made Gohan think about it. But looking at Vegeta, he could tell that the Saiyan Prince was frustrated and tired, on the brink of insanity.

"Go home Vegeta... get some sleep and come back later-"

"Just tell me how!"

"I don't know!" Gohan replied sharply.

"You're full of crap, I could've sworn you did ten minutes ago!" Vegeta yelled. The argument caught the attention of Chi-Chi, who held a crying Goten in her arms as she barged through the door.

"Whose there?" Chi-Chi shouted, looking at Gohan.

"Vegeta came by to visit-"

"Well I'll show him, prince of all idiocy is more like it-"

"Women, I will have you annihilated first!" Vegeta interjected brashly as he poked his head through the window.

"Mom, please, leave before something bad happens," Gohan pleaded.

"I'm not leaving so he can screw up your studies even more-"

"Please mom, take care of Goten."

"Gohan, this is not open for discussion!"

"My God, woman, when will you ever just shut up!"

"Enough!" Gohan interrupted, standing up from his chair.

"Oh, and what are you gonna do? Are you actually going to defy your mother? I didn't think you could!" Vegeta taunted. To which he was met with a firm punch to the face. He then sped out of the window towards Vegeta's flying body.

"Gohan!" Chi-Chi yelled worriedly. But her concern was paid no attention as Gohan took off his shirt again, letting it drop to wherever on the ground. Vegeta flipped back and kicked off the ground, his hair turning the characteristic Super Saiyan gold, and Gohan did the same.

"Yes, that's it, show me how to ascend!" Vegeta encouraged. As the two engaged in a swift exchange of melee strikes, ending decisively with Gohan's fist in the prince's gut.

"If there were two or three of you, I might need to to win this. But I don't," he said to Vegeta as he recovered. But as he was about to strike, Gohan launched him into the ground with his two hands joined together as one fist. He descended to be closer to Vegeta, standing next to his beaten opponent.

"I can tell you that you'll never reach the next level with the state of mind you have. I never wanted to just reach this magical level of strength. I needed to, to keep people like you from dying. Much like when you needed to to survive the meteor shower in space. And it won't come from hatred either," Gohan told him, Vegeta getting back up slowly to look at the young Saiyan. "That's why you didn't ascend after you saw your own son killed before you. You hated Cell." Vegeta was left frozen from Gohan's analytical skill, trying to understand where all of this fell into place in history and whether Gohan was right or not.

"Now go home... if you want, you can come by tomorrow and we can train, but until then, I don't want to see you," Gohan said, with a deeper, commanding voice. He turned his back and began walking home, but Vegeta spoke up.

"Why...?" Vegeta asked lethargically.

"Why what?"

"Why do you spare me time after time? When I first got to Earth and threatened to destroy your home, your father after I threaten to rule the universe after Namek, or even now when I said I would annihilate your mother. Why?" the Saiyan prince explained.

"Because it wouldn't matter if I did. I get nothing from it. And you have a place here on Earth, you have Bulma and your own son now. Take care of them, life shouldn't be thrown away so carelessly," Gohan answered. And with that, Gohan finally returned home.

* * *

Edit: Someone pointed out Vegeta was slightly out of character. I didn't say exactly what I meant to say, so I did. Instead of the word astonished, I said he was left frozen. This is why reviews are good, and this is why you should review more :U

I'm also quite happy with the support I'm getting in the making of this story. Thanks everyone!


	3. C3: Peace of Mind

So I did add an A/N to the end of chapter two and edited a part someone pointed was out of character. Also, I am up in Pennsylvania right now, a six or so hour drive away from home, and I don't have all-time access to the internet. A warning: this chapter is a bit... touchy. So again, chapters may be coming out slower. Read and enjoy the chapter, and thanks for all your support!

* * *

**Chapter 3: Peace of Mind**

The moon rose over the land, the clouds finally dispersed and the weather was calm in West City. Bulma stayed at the ground floor of the capsule building up until midnight, looking out the window to see if Vegeta would be home later. Her mother was still walking around, seemingly restless as she drank a cup of tea.

"Bulma, would you like something to drink?" Mrs. Briefs asked.

"No ma, I think I'm going to go to bed," she answered sadly.

"Oh, I wouldn't be too down, Bulma. I'm sure Vegeta's still training, and in the amount he does, that's something very admirable," her mother said positively.

"Yeah but... I miss him, and he just doesn't care. He can be just too selfish sometimes!" Bulma spoke sharply.

"There's no need to get so angry, now. I didn't do anything," said Mrs. Briefs. "Are you sure you don't want something to drink, maybe a cup of tea?"

* * *

"Alright Gohan, it's time for bed!" Chi-Chi told her son through the bedroom door. Gohan was still up studying, and wearily dropped a book on his desk and let a pen fall from his hand.

"Okay mom," he obeyed, happy to get up from studying. "Hey mom, is it okay if I train with Vegeta tomorrow?" he said stepping into the kitchen. He clasped his hands behind his head, trying to stay relaxed as he hoped for the answer he knew probably wouldn't come his way. Goten was wrapped up to stay warm as he laid on the dinner table in slumber.

"What's there to train for?" she asked bluntly.

"In case something even stronger than Cell comes up," he replied, trying to be polite.

"Oh yeah, and what would that be?"

"I don't know, we didn't know we were going to Namek or that the androids were going to pop up that were incredibly strong, but they did."

"No." Without missing a beat, Gohan sighed.

"Why?"

"Because you've been running away through your window trying to avoid your studies-"

"Because you always try to keep me cooped up in this house and all I would do **is** study!" Gohan explained somewhat rudely.

"Listen, young man, don't you interrupt me when I'm trying to say something!"

"Fine, then let me ask you this. If I've been to battle and won against the strongest opponent Earth's seen yet, why do you keep trying to hold on to me? Why do you keep trying to control me?" Gohan asked honestly.

"Because you're only thirteen and you still need guidance."

"I have guidance!" The prolonged yelling caused Goten to wake up and begin crying as his sleep was interrupted.

"Now look, you made Goten upset, and Vegeta does not count as guidance!" Chi-chi answered, going to pick up Goten.

"Well I just might anyways," Gohan said a bit more deeply, to which his mother responded with a frustrated growl.

"Just go in your room, and don't even speak to me until morning!" she yelled. Gohan promptly went to his room, closing the door lightly to try and preserve his sanity with the background noise of a crying baby. Once again, he went to the window and began flying away from his house, slowly so that his mother wouldn't notice.

* * *

Bulma began walking up the stairs to her bedroom. She yawned, tired from waiting for Vegeta. As she made her final step upwards, she could hear boots hit the ground on the balcony across from the door to her bedroom, and the outside slider opened.

"Vegeta!" she said happily, going to hug him. As she came up to him, Vegeta stood still, not exactly sure what to do. As she finally ran into him with her arms around him, he slowly put one hand on her back. "Are you okay?" she asked, worried.

"Yes, I'm fine, you don't need to be concerned," he said calmly and rather dully. Contradictory to his statement, his stomach growled loudly.

"C'mon, let's get you something to eat-" She was cut off by Vegeta's forearm as she tried to rush back down to the kitchen.

"No... I've been hungrier before... I don't want that right now," he said.

"Then what do you want?" Bulma asked, standing in front of and leaning into Vegeta. He never said anything back.

"You have a place here on Earth, you have Bulma and your own son now. Take care of them," he remembered Gohan saying. Vegeta simply kissed her, and picked her up in his arms.

"I'm tired, I want to go to sleep," he answered finally. Bulma closed her eyes, resting in Vegeta's arms as he made his way to the bed and put her down. He then took his Saiyan battle suit off, and looked out through the open door of their bedroom onto the balcony. For seemingly no reason, there was once again a gigantic lightning storm.

"What's the lightning storm about," Bulma started, "there was one earlier for no reason too."

"It's nothing... Bulma... nothing to be worried about," Vegeta replied tiredly. He crawled into bed and pulled the blanket over him and Bulma. She came closer and infiltrated his arms.

"What's changed?" she asked. It was a bit of a daunting question for the Saiyan. "Vegeta?"

"Life shouldn't be thrown away so carelessly," he told her, closing his eyes.

* * *

It was quiet, far away from any form of civilization. The moon gave enough light for eyes to make sense of what they were looking at, and few clouds were in the skies. A golden ball of light hovered in the air, surrounded by a sparks as the lightning storm centered itself above it.

"**Aaaaaaaaaaggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh!**" The scream echoed throughout the barren wasteland he found, and lightning struck furiously to the ground below him. Rocks shattered and the shape of the ground below him changed, made into jagged structures. Gohan panted as his power surged, feeling as great as ever. Soon enough, the storm resided as the Saiyan hero took control of his new found power. He began taking punches and kicks through the air, faster than most could follow.

"I wonder how stronng I could be if I made this form feel natural, like I did with the first level of Super Saiyan," he said, looking at his outstretched arm. "I've never felt anything like this before." However, the boy brought himself back to reality and out of the seducing feel of power.

"I should probably get back home again... the last thing mom needs to know is that I'm not there sleeping," Gohan told himself. Without hesitation, and without reverting, he began dashing at supersonic speeds back home.

* * *

Before long, it was morning once again. In West City, the sky was clear and it couldn't be a more pleasant day. Bulma sat up from her bed and to her surprise, saw Vegeta standing up and putting his boots on, already set to leave.

"Where are you going," she asked, "aren't you going to have breakfast?" Vegeta paused for a moment; he almost forgot he hadn't eaten for an entire day.

"Yes, yes I will eat," he said, getting up. "I'll get Trunks while I'm at it," he added in, exiting the bedroom.

"_I wonder what happened to him that he's like this,_" Bulma thought to herself. "I_t doesn't matter, does it? I like anyways._"

Vegeta went down the hall towards his son's room, and opened the door. His father-in-law looked up at him from playing with his grandchild, with toy cars scattered across the floor of Trunks' bedroom.

"Oh, hello Vegeta," Mr. Briefs greeted warmly. "It's nice to see you up and around." Trunks looked up as well to see his father standing behind him. As best he could, he stood and went over to his father and reached up. However, Vegeta did little in acknowledgement of his son's want for attention.

"C'mon now Trunks, it's almost time to eat," he directed, going to lead his son out of the room. Mr. Briefs stood up with his cat on his shoulder as usual, and looked out the door which Vegeta then Trunks exited through.

"He's still Vegeta. I'm not sure what Bulma did to crack his thick shell."

Downstairs, after everyone had gathered for their first meal of the day, Vegeta made no hesitation to start wolfing down food as any Saiyan would, and Bulma helped her Trunks eat solid food.

"Slow down, Vegeta, that won't feel good coming out the other end," Mr. Briefs joked.

"I'll show you what doesn't feel good in the other end," Vegeta replied sharply and carelessly, his voice muffled because of the food stuffed in his face so much so that his cheeks were bulging with food. In one large gulp, all the food in his mouth was in his throat, then headed down to his stomach. Seeing as there were only empty dishes with scraps scattered before him, he held out his hand with a bowl.

"More please."

Bulma's head turned almost instantaneously. "_He said please?_"

* * *

"Gohan, time to get up," Chi-Chi said, sweetly as a mother. She went and opened the window, letting the fresh air in. "C'mon, why don't you come help with breakfast? Goten's hungry," she suggested, going into the kitchen.

"_Well at least she doesn't know about last night,_" he thought, sitting up tiredly. It was after one in the morning when he got back home, but his tiredness would soon go away as he began moving around. He stood and went to the kitchen table, looking at Goten who sat up looking at him. His small arms reached up to Gohan, grabbing one of the overarching spikes of his hair.

"Hey, stop it!" Gohan said playfully. He reached for a bowl and spoon to feed Goten, trying to distract him from pulling on his hair. "Here Goten, look over here!" The infant's attention was immediately drawn towards the food, and breakfast began.

"Hey mom, after I'm done feeding Goten, I'll show you what I did yesterday for studying, okay?"

"Okay," Chi-Chi answered, stirring food in a pot.

* * *

Outside, Vegeta, Bulma and Trunks gathered on the front lawn of the Capsule Corporation building. Trunks walked with his hand in his mother's, and Vegeta stood beside them.

"So where are you going exactly, Vegeta?" Bulma asked.

"To train, does it matter?"

"No, I'd just like to know."

"But you said it doesn't matter."

"It doesn't!" Bulma replied, somewhat annoyed with this game.

"Fine, then if it doesn't matter, I'm going to Kakarot's house," he finally answered.

"Goku's house? You're gonna train with Gohan?" she said, quite surprised.

"You said it doesn't matter!"

"It doesn't! I'm just surprised, is all." The moment was followed with silence. She leaned into his side and looked up at him.

"I love you," Bulma told him. Not quite able to say it back, he put his arm around her waist. "What's changed, Vegeta?" Challenged with the same question, Vegeta took a moment to think of a more sincere answer than the one he gave yesterday.

"I finally have peace of mind."

* * *

So, some of you might say, "Vegeta is really out of character, Red! This chapter sucks!" Well, maybe, but I don't think so. Remember, everything Goku had or did, Vegeta tried to see if it was the source of his rival's power. Intense training, a family to care about, living a life as normal as possible, and remember that in this story, his rivalry with Goku basically dropped because, well, Goku's dead. Very very dead (Cadaverific). In this story, he's having a sort of rivalry/respect for Gohan. So, considering Gohan's words, he tried something new. Remember, in the actual DB Universe, Vegeta's noticed how Gohan has incredible power when he needs to protect someone he loves, such as in the battle with Freiza or his SSj2 ascension. So, exploring different sources of power, why wouldn't he try to change? Remember, there's still two things he couldn't bring himself to do. One) Hold his son. Two) Say "I love you" to Bulma. And if you don't agree with what happened when Vegeta finally returned, let me ask you this. How was Trunks made?

Bit of a lengthy A/N, but I hope this will prevent questions from being asked in reviews or PM's. Hoped you enjoyed, and I'm not sure when Ch.4 will be up. And the next chapter, I promise, won't be as... emotional... as this. In fact, the first antagonists are introduced next chapter!


	4. C4: Carried Away

**Chapter Four: Carried Away**

Gohan sat at his desk, studying as he sensed Vegeta approaching as fast as the prince could. Yawning, the young hero sat back in his chair and rubbed his eyes, still somewhat tired from having little sleep the night before. His eyes heavy, they began to close, and his head leaned forward from his muscles being relaxed, and he went into a peaceful snooze.

"Gohan!" he heard a rugged voice call. "Gohan, wake up!" the boy heard before he was picked up by the lapel of his shirt. His eyes shot open wide as he looked forward, straight into the battle-ready Saiyan prince.

"Oh, it's just you, Vegeta," Gohan said, relaxing more.

"C'mon, we might as well start now." The hand holding Gohan's shirt opened, and Vegeta turned to hop out the window and away from the house. Gohan promptly took a firm standing position, taking his shirt off and leaving it on the chair of his desk.

"Okay then," Gohan answered, following Vegeta out of the house before his mother had time to notice or do anything about Vegeta's entry. "Let's go this way," the boy suggested, dashing off in a direction towards West City. Not having much to say, Vegeta quietly followed Gohan's path as they made their way across the land. For some minutes, they traveled until Gohan picked an open spot, having a barren surface with a cliff going down into the ocean on one side. If you concentrated hard enough, you could see West City.

"Why are we so close to the city?" Vegeta questioned. "I thought you wanted to keep us away from people, like your father would."

"Yeah, I do. I think we're far enough away," Gohan told Vegeta. "Now then, give me a moment. **Hah!**" In an instant, the boy went Super Saiyan.

"And this... is what you're looking for, right?" Gohan asked, as he began to concentrate on ascending once again. He grunted as his hair became spikier, and a cloud of lightning and sparks formed around him. The sky darkened, and Vegeta looked a little surprised how Gohan learned to control his ascended form in only a few days of practice.

"Y-... yes," Vegeta said weakly, not knowing what to do.

"Well then try to match me, fight me as if you were fighting Cell or the androids," Gohan commanded, his fists locked at his side.

"**Ragh!**" The Saiyan prince immediately bulked as he went into his Super Saiyan form, his hair turning gold and his power skyrocketing with little effort, as he trained for much time trying to ascend to the next level. For a moment, the two looked at each other, and without notice, Gohan went to attack Vegeta. However, it was slow enough that Vegeta had time to react to Gohan's attack, and caught the boy's knee heading for his face. The two went into a rather pointless exchange of strikes.

"I know this isn't the height of your power, Gohan!" Vegeta yelled.

"No, but what's yours?" Gohan responded, bashing Vegeta's stomach with his shin in a powerful kick. The prince immediately keeled over on all fours, gasping for breath.

"If I were to just show you my max power now, you'd undoubtedly die," the boy said. "You're the one who needs to be pushed to the limit, because even if you are, I'm one step ahead of you." In the time it took Gohan to explain that, Vegeta slowly pushed himself to stand.

"I will show you... the prince of all Saiyans will not stand for your insolence!" Vegeta shouted angrily, unleashing a flurry of punches in a fit of rage. Easily, each was dodged. Vegeta slowed down, trying to concentrate his energy into one quicker, more powerful strike, but his fist was caught with ease.

"C'mon now, you're better than this," Gohan half-heartedly taunted. He dragged Vegeta by his fist across the ground and around him in a circle, then let him fly away. Recovering quickly, Vegeta stopped himself, only to see the adolescent appear before him, using his forearm to bash him away. There was a trench made in the ground from Vegeta's body being hit, and Gohan stretched out his hand. Without a word, he unleashed a small blast, and Vegeta did his best to get out of the way, but he was still knocked on his stomach from the shockwave.

"You're just toying with me..." Vegeta stated with a surpressed anguish, as he saw Gohan walk towards him casually.

"Frustrating, isn't it?" Once again, the prince stood, his hands out at his side.

"Final..." he began to say, bringing his hands together as large amounts of energy began gathering in his hands. However, it didn't stop Gohan's slow walk towards him.

"**Flash!**" A yellow beam of energy quickly shot out from Vegeta's hands, voiding its surroundings of color as a bright light came from it. As it began to reach Gohan, he made one simple swinging motion with his arm, backhanding the energy wave away like it was another fly.

"Wh-... how?" Vegeta asked, puzzled by the vast amounts of strength Gohan had yet to use. Without a word, the boy appeared before Vegeta, kneeing him again as a gut-wrenching cry came from the prince, and then teleported behind him, kicking him across the dirt back to where they started. He flew up into the air and over the water, looking down at the prince.

"Now I want you to hit me with the most powerful blast you can. You have one minute!" Gohan yelled down to Vegeta.

"He just wants to kill me is all," Vegeta said pessimistically, putting his hands together. "I think this is all I have... Galick..." he began, using an old move not seen in awhile. It was instead yellow, changed in color from Vegeta's ascension to Super Saiyan. He stalled for a moment, gathering his energy.

"Gun..." and another long moment passed. "**Fire!**" At last, the beam of energy was released, and Gohan raised his hand, a giant ball of energy forming quickly. Vegeta looked in horror.

"**Ragh!**" The two energies collided, the sky dark as the power struggle was incredibly bright. The ball of energy slowly pushed down on Vegeta, and he seemed helpless. Leaving his position behind his ball of energy, Gohan sped around to hover next to Vegeta, his arms crossed.

"Struggling?" Gohan said, adding a bit of degradation into the tone of his voice.

"Shut... up... you fool, you're going to kill us all!" Vegeta shouted at Gohan.

"Then you have to protect us, Vegeta, don't you?"

"I know that, and that's why I said you're going to kill us all!" The threatening mass of energy inched closer as Vegeta kept struggling.

"Do you remember, when Trunks was killed in front of you, that need to protect and avenge him?" Gohan asked.

"Y-... yes."

"Do you remember feeling so helpless afterwards, that all you could say to me when Cell retaliated was sorry?"

"Yes..." Vegeta answered, mustering what he had left to confront the ever-nearing, life ending ball of energy.

"Do you remember that same feeling of helplessness when you lost to Bojack, and almost lot your son again?" This time Vegeta didn't answer as his anger festered inside of him. Gohan flew over to Vegeta and grabbed his chin, turning the prince's head to look across the water and at the skyscrapers of West City.

"Are you prepared to be so helpless that you'd lose that?" Gohan said, letting go of Vegeta's chin. A picture of baby trunks and Bulma flashed in Vegeta's mind, and the sprawled corpse of his son after being shot through the chest by Cell, reminding him of what would happen if he failed.

"No... I am the prince of all Saiyans... I am not a helpless child!" he told himself, straightening his stance. "I am the prince of all Saiyans, and I... have... **ascended!**" he screamed, a sudden well of strength opening for Vegeta to pull from like no other. The characteristic sparks began forming around Vegeta of an ascended Saiyan, and a lightning storm began gathering once again. Large waves formed in the ocean, hitting up against the rocks over the cliff.

"**Aaaaggggghhhh!**" The blast wave increased tremendously in size, easily overtaking the large ball of energy Gohan launched at Vegeta. As the beam of energy reached out past the exosphere of Earth and dissipated, Vegeta stood, content with the new heights of power he reached. He screamed again, his strength surging, and then he turned to Gohan with a bit of a devious smile.

"Now I'm going to show you never to make a mockery of me again," he said, getting into a fighting stance. "After yesterday, and after that pointless beat down today, I am going to destroy you!"

"Don't do this, Vegeta," Gohan sternly told Vegeta. "Neither of us are going to like what comes out of this."

* * *

Not far from a mountain range, an open grassland bordered by rocks and a cliff seemed completely normal. A few feet under, and the most startling discovery could be made. In a chamber below ground, fighting could be heard. Two extraterrestrial soldiers battle one another in white and black armor, and a fancier M seemed to be imprinted on their foreheads.

"We'll never revive him at this pace!" a short green, whiskered alien said. "We need to find someone more powerful to take energy from if we want to revive Majin Buu. We need more... minions." A tall demonic figure approached the alien, in a blue outfit with a white cape cut jaggedly at the bottom, and he spoke in a deep voice.

"Yes, master Babidi, the manpower would be... useful... in our search," he agreed.

"Dabura, I need you to find people for me, and we need to gather... information, from these humans," Babidi said, starting to laugh.

"Yes, I'm sure there has to be someone at least as powerful as Puipui. Remember the tremors, master?"

"Hmm... yes. There was no reason to feel an earthquake like we had a couple months ago," Babidi noted. "We'll release you to the surface at night, Dabura. I wouldn't want anyone noticing our operations."

* * *

A/N: So some of you might think this is mildly unoriginal. However, we do know Babidi was active between the Cell and Buu sagas. Remember, he controlled Spopovich and Yamu. So why would Babidi not be a threat when people like Gohan and Vegeta are more active.

Anyways, until next time guys. I don't think the next chapter will be up for at east three days. Hope you enjoyed!


	5. C5: Too Far

So I was looking at the reviews, like every author does, and I saw Ultimate Black Ace's concern for Gohan putting West City (when it's actually all of Earth) at risk. Whenever I mention reviews in my author's notes, I just want to clear away questions and doubt, that's all. So we saw Gohan launch this giant, slow moving energy ball near West City, then fly in front of it and didn't seemed phased at all (wasn't panting or slouched, like Goku with his warp Kamehameha). So that wasn't his max power, and he could easily deflect into the depths of space, no problem. Another one I saw was about the upcoming fight between Vegeta and Gohan, which is most of this chapter (I'll say SPOILER ALERT now). So put aside the two zenkais, if Gohan's SSJ form is more powerful than Vegeta's (remember he went in a 4v1 in Bojack Unbound and took on Perfect Cell no problem), who do you think is going to win SSJ2? Not to discredit or belittle the knowledge of ky111, he's been very supportive of this story, but I do try to think things through.

Also, since I just got back from Pennsylvania, you can expect chapters to come out more quickly. Anyways, enjoy the chapter, and thanks for all your support!

* * *

**Chapter Five: Too Far**

From a distance, there seemed to be two spiked glowing, gold balls of energy, shrouded in an electrical cloud of sparks. Lightning struck chaotically all across the land, and an unnatural bubble of energy could be seen in the atmosphere from deeper space.

"You can't defeat me now, Gohan. I can pull from levels of power beyond your imagination as an ascended Saiyan. You could only expand so far with your power with such small size," Vegeta said, with an elitist air about him. Gohan stood before him, his fists at his side as he prepared for battle.

"Is that what you really think?" Gohan asked with concern. "If that's the case, then I can't stop you from coming over here to find out." A stand-off overtook the scene, with Vegeta smiling proudly at his accomplishment, but Gohan was his antonym, with his mouth stretched to one side in disappointment. Without notice, the two disappeared from sight, and you could see shock waves scattered across the sky, appearing all at different times. Without notice, the two appeared on the ground, and Vegeta went to kick Gohan with all his might. The two created a wide, but shallow crater as Gohan's forearm met the Saiyan prince's shin. As both of them looked at each other intensely, Vegeta found himself swept up in the air as Gohan kicked through his anchoring leg. Back-springing, Vegeta got to his feet, only to have his stomach meet with Gohan's fist.

"**Haaaaaggghhhh!**" An explosion sounded as the grown Saiyan flew from the cloud of smoke almost as quickly as it appeared. There was a hole in Vegeta's armor, exposing his skin as blood dripped from his mouth.

"Urgh... damn that piddling child," Vegeta muttered to himself, flipping backwards as his feet dragged across the ground. As he looked into the cloud of smoke he came from, and small pellets of energy flew at him as the standing Saiyan's arms went up in front of him, rendering the rather annoying attack useless. But as Vegeta was about to let his guard down to advance, he could feel a tug on his hair.

"Agh!" he yelled in pain. Gohan swung his helpless captor up and over his head, hovering a few feet above the ground with one knee bent. As Vegeta whirled helplessly in the air, he was flung into the ground with the rock buckling under him. The chaotic whether persisted as the fighters looked back at one another. A glowing light came from Gohan's arms.

"Let's try something new," he said, more to himself. As Vegeta reached up to try and blast Gohan away, the boy punched through the air down at Vegeta, but his fist didn't connect to any part of Vegeta. Instead, a yellow beam of energy went from his arm down into Vegeta, eliciting a nerve-wracking sound from the Saiyan prince as he tried to deal with each blow as Gohan continued this repetitive assault. Each time Vegeta was struck, you could see a flash of white light. Eventually, the occurrence of these blinding flashes stopped, as Vegeta lie gasping for breath with his blood covered mouth.

"Now don't ever try something that stupid again, Vegeta. I'm tired of beating you so senselessly," Gohan told him. He began walking away, looking at the troubling skies as he tried to remember which was was home. Behind him, however, Vegeta found the strength to slowly make an ascent in the air.

"Where do you think you're going, Gohan? **Haaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!**" The gold aura around Vegeta flared furiously, as lightning from the sky curved around him unnaturally. Vegeta's rage at someone being stronger than him as an ascended Saiyan seemed to be fueling his power, as a ball of yellow energy forming around Vegeta expanded rapidly. Quicker than it followed, Gohan retreated to safety and looked back at Vegeta, trying to think of a way to break the explosive wave.

"Ka... me..." Gohan said, stepping into a forward stance. The explosive wave dissipated as Vegeta noticed Gohan charging an attack.

"Hm, I'll end this quickly," Vegeta told himself, his hands stretching out from his sides. "Final...

"Ha... **me**..."

"**Flash!**"

"**Haaaaaa!**"

Two great beams of energy sped towards each other, colliding and becoming one focused ball of energy.

"_If this keeps up, this could explode in size and change the shape of the Earth, or even destroy it,_" Gohan thought. The energy of Gohan's Kamhemeha faded away almost instantly as he dropped his hand and flipped backwards, his hand pushing off the ground to make himself go farther. As he landed, almost immediately did Vegeta's Final Flash come upon Gohan, but the struggle wasn't quite finished. Throwing his arms up in an X, Gohan held the attack at bay as best he could, slipping back inch by inch as the ground showed the trail of his dug in feet. Vegeta began to laugh.

"I have you now, kid! There's no way you can escape this! **Waaaaggghhh!**" A burst of energy went down the beam, and Gohan slipped back as one of his feet went up in the air, not prepared for the sudden rush of energy. However, he regained his footing, and stood strong against the unrelenting exertion of energy. For minutes, Vegeta persisted with all of his might, but soon enough, he began walking, step by step closer to Vegeta. It was a few moments before Vegeta noticed his own blast's end drawing nearer.

"What? You can't possibly be this strong... **I won't let you!**" Yet another sudden rise in Vegeta's energy created a setback in Gohan's advance, but it was almost unnoticeable. The sustaining of such a strong blast against a stronger wall caused Vegeta's power to finally start declining, and that fact wasn't so hidden from Gohan. He pushed his arms forward, powerfully enough the beam went backwards for enough time that Gohan could get his hands on it.

"This ends now, Vegeta!" Gohan yelled. He leaned forward, his head almost touching his hands, and Vegeta's beam of energy didn't seem to phase Gohan any longer. "Masenko... **haaaa!**" A precise energy wave seemed to infiltrate Vegeta's and went up through the barrel of Vegeta's final flash, threatening to breach through the exterior and thrash the Saiyan prince. Caught off guard, Vegeta put all of his effort into holding back Gohan's counterattack, and to an extent, succeeded.

"**Huuu aaaaaggggghhhh!**" Gohan's scream echoed through the battlefield as Gohan's Masenko expanded to be twice the size of Vegeta's Final Flash, and with seemingly no struggle, Vegeta was overtaken an pushed back with a thundering flash of light. As the blinding flash subsided, there was a large trench in the dirt made from Gohan's blast, and Vegeta lie broken at the end of it. Without further hesitation, the boy flew over to where his defeated opponent lie. You could see now, Gohan's forearms were scratched, scraped and burnt from Vegeta's attack, but the prince was in far worse condition, injured to the point he was forced to revert to his normal form. Blood dripped now from Vegeta's eyes and nose, scraped and scratched all over his body with most of his armor flaked away and a larger portions of his skin showing from his parts of his suit being dissolved in Gohan's blast. Vegeta was barely able to open one eye to look at Gohan, and a soft sound came from the Saiyan prince as he tried to breathe.

"Good job, Vegeta. You managed to ascend to the next level and still get yourself ground down into this pitiful, falsely proud heap of flesh and bones again. How do you feel?" Gohan asked rhetorically, turning his back on Vegeta to walk away. "You can pick yourself up and bring yourself back to Bulma, you sorry sack of shit. You went too far." Vegeta closed his eyes, accepting his fate of suffering. The lightning storm and wild ocean tide began to subside since Vegeta was no longer ascended, and Gohan could control his ascended form more now. However, Gohan let himself slip back to his normal form.

"I want..." Vegeta struggled to say, "to train again... Gohan... later-"

"No. There's no reason for me to train you if every time you reach a new level of power, you try to turn on me, and put the planet in danger. I'm not going to let you do that, and I'm not going to support it. You're too cocky, Vegeta. Learn to have a little modesty," Gohan sharply told him. The word "modesty" echoed in Vegeta's ears, but the word escaped him.

"Goodbye," Gohan said, flying up into the sky. Vegeta watched in shame as he was left broken on the battlefield he created. Had he stopped at ascending and actually tried to train, instead of fight ruthlessly with the boy, he would still hold his respect, and he knew it. Slowly, Vegeta shifted himself in the rock to make himself more comfortable, as he lay and went to make himself comfortable. It seemed he had chose to let himself bleed out here and die, and he closed his eyes.

* * *

You: Whoa! Gohan calling Vegeta a sorry sack of shit is totally out of character!

Ugh... no. I remember watching the end of the Japanese version of Bojack Unbound, and as he sticks his hand through Bojack, Gohan calls him a bastard. And being a rather emotional teenager, holding back much of his feeling of anguish and contempt for the way he lives at home, why wouldn't he say something bad like that? He gets to, with no repercussion. And it probably made him feel good, too.

Aside from that side track, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! There will be much more to come this week.


	6. C6: Demon's Reign

It's been awhile since I updated this, I know. I've personally dreaded this chapter because it's like "Gohan and Vegeta stopped fighting, what now?" And I was away the last week of summer camping and trying to get Life Rank in Boy Scouts (which I finally did), and the rest of my life's been busy too. To be honest, I also kinda grew a little bored with this, but as I got on and sat down, I saw the reviews for this and I was like "wow, people are really waiting for something." Anyways, the rather anticipated chapter for some is here. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Six: Demon's Reign  
**

A full moon shone over the skies, the weather now calmer. It seemed almost painfully quiet since Gohan abandoned Vegeta, and as Vegeta wallowed in his misery alone. But there was nothing for him to do about it; Vegeta let his unrefined attitude and daunting failures stop him once again. There is no pain similar to shame, because shame is a question of personal flaws.

* * *

"Reports say that rioting has occurred in West City, or what remains of it-"

"Devastation has been caused by an unforeseen tsunami, caused by something which seems scientifically impossible-"

"People are getting in boats, going from building to building and stealing what supplies they can-"

"Dad!" Bulma called, trying to get what she needed packed before anything bad were happen to the Capsule Corp. building and more importantly, their home. In the background, little Trunks was crying as Mrs. Briefs tried to calm the baby.

"Yes, dear?"

"Did you get the hard drives from the computers?"

"Yes, Bulma, I did. But I suggest we hurry up. I think I heard some rumbling downstairs," Mr. Briefs advised, going down the hall to pick up his luggage.

"Alright, c'mon then. Mom! We're leaving!" Bulma told her mother, hurrying to pack her things. As she zipped up a bag of luggage, she brought it across the hall and out into the raucous open. Quickly, she took a capsule and tossed it into the air, as it poofed and revealed a larger dropship hovering in the air.

"What about Vegeta?" Mrs. Briefs asked, as her and her husband followed outside with little Trunks.

"I think I know where he is, where all the flashes of light were in the afternoon. But we don't have all day to waste!"

* * *

"Hmmm... that looks promising," the demon king said to himself, hyper-dashing through the air as he looked at West City ablaze.

As he made his way towards the city, Vegeta bothered himself to turn over, looking at West City destroying itself. But as he began to become more aware of the area, he sensed a disturbingly strong, unknown energy. Then, he could see it as whoever it was descended into the city. Struck with a subtle feeling of panic, Vegeta picked himself up from the ground. His wounds had closed up but he was still injured, and dried blood stained his pale skin and his Saiyan armor. Charging up, and having a feeling of somewhat restored power, he charged off into the city to find whoever the threat was.

Arriving between skyscrapers, Vegeta looked among the insanity that had ensued since his battle with Gohan. The streets were flooded, debris of all sorts floating around and people rowing boats and through the city to somewhere. Many looked down from windows or rooftops wondering what they'd even do. Everything seemed to be falling apart now, and the Saiyan prince had yet to find his target.

"Blast it, where is he!" he blurted frustratedly to himself. Going easily between buildings, he continued his flight and looked down each street. Abruptly, an energy wave tore a rift in the city, exploding with ferocity in the plains yonder. Hurriedly, Vegeta flew towards where the blast originated. Seeing through a hole in a skyscraper, he witnessed a tall red-skinned man dressed in blue with a white cape strike fear into a group huddled in the corner.

"You're not invincible, you damn elf!" a man shouted holding a handgun. He fired some rounds at the demon, but proved futile as they simply bounced off his head.

"That's cute," Dabura said, holding his hand up. His sword materialized in his grip, and was used to slash a blast wave through the building, disintegrating some bystanders. The man's arms went limp with awe, and the handgun he held dropped to the floor. "You seem stronger than the rest of your race, I shall spare you," the Demon King told his victim. In an instant, he appeared behind the man and gave a light chop to the back of his neck, letting him fall to the floor unconscious. Lifting his head up, he fixed his eyes on Vegeta.

"Someone who can fly? That's a change," Dabura remarked.

"What do you think your doing? You're stomping on the land of the prince of all Saiyans, who has ascended to powers of levels you could not comprehend! Do you seriously think your insolence will go freely?" The words Vegeta spoke made his target laugh, as he seemed to be in no condition to fight.

"You can't be serious! You look like leftover scraps from dinner!" Vegeta paused for a moment as his anger festered.

"_How dare he mock me, the prince of all Saiyans. I've achieved far too much to let him destroy me now,_" Vegeta thought. "**Haaahhh!**"

Breaking their stand-off, a gold aura flared up around Vegeta as he pushed himself to a Super Saiyan, punching Dabura solidly in the face. There was a thundering boom as his fist went across the Demon King's cheek, causing the mysterious foe to step back with his head turned and his sword still in hand.

"Don't think you'll get away with that," he warned Vegeta. Promptly, he slashed diagonally with his blade at Vegeta, an expanding crescent blade of energy shooting off from the sword. Swaying to the side, Vegeta then dodged it and a quick combo of slashes.

"_He must be at least as powerful as Cell, but no matter. I shall ascend once again!_"

As Vegeta dodged to the side, his swaying body was met by the boot of Dabura, sending him flying through the walls of several buildings. Through the clouds of dust that came from the puncturing of each skyscraper, Dabura speedily followed his challenger.

* * *

"Hey mom, I'm back!" Gohan said, opening the door.

"Just in time for dinner, what more could I expect?" Chi-Chi joked, starting to lay out food. The news was on television and the young hero's infant brother walked as best he could towards him.

"Come here little guy," Gohan told warmly to Goten, picking his brother up and walking in front of the television. "I've had this pretty eerie feeling for a couple hours now, ma-"

"Breaking news in West City," a reporter started, interrupting Gohan's thoughts. "As rioting continues in West City, more of the supernatural seems to be happening." The camera showed Vegeta descending from the top of a sky scraper as a fiery energy wave blasts down towards him, obliterating the top of the sky scraper and just missing the Saiyan prince. "No one knows-

"I have to go, mom, sorry, keep dinner warm for when I get back!" the boy said, putting his brother in a chair on the way out and rushing out the door.

"Gohan! You get back here right now!"

"Bye mom!" And as he powered up to dash away, his aura turned gold and he was off, looking like a beacon of light in the sky.

* * *

"Do you feel that, Dende?" The young guardian of the planet closed his eyes and relaxed, taking in what he could as he pondered Piccolo's question.

"Yeah," he answered, still sensing the action. "Vegeta's fighting some sort of demon... and he's losing." There was yet another drawn out silence as Piccolo decided what he should do.

"I'm surprised, I swore he had the power Gohan did at the end of the Cell Games. I'm not sure I'd do much to help," the Namekian fighter went on.

"I can sense another strong power... Gohan... going towards the city to help Vegeta."

"Then I'll buy some time until then, if Vegeta's getting beaten as badly as you say he is. Try not to have a rave party while I'm out," Piccolo commanded in a sarcastic, fatherly manner.

* * *

Glass shattered as Vegeta skipped then rolled across the floor of a seemingly vacated building. Rolling to his feet, he was able to block a heavy kick from Dabura on his right. Having a grip on the demon's leg, he began whirling Dabura around, smashing through a wall and two pillars. Slowing his spin down, Vegeta whipped his captive in a downward direction, tearing through multiple floors of the building. The Saiyan prince then held his hand up, charging a devastating attack.

"**Raaaggghhh!**" A ball of yellow energy sped through the rips in the floors that Dabura's body had made, and then the blast seemed to have disappeared. Following was loud explosion-like sounds, and in only a few moments was there a blinding flash of light off in the distance.

"Did you really think you could get rid of me that easy?" the Demon King asked his adversary. With an expression of fear and shock, Vegeta stood frozen where he was, Dabura floating just beyond the shattered window. In an instant, Dabura was at Vegeta's side, using the hilt of his sword to smash into Vegeta's back, with his free hand holding his shoulder so that Vegeta couldn't fly away. A gut-wrenching cry came from the warrior, as if his spine shattered from the strike. Again, Dabura hit his prey.

"Weakling... we picked the wrong planet to take energy from," he openly said, dropping Vegeta through the broken floor.

"_Why... why can't I ascend? A mere child can and a prince such as I... Why?_" Catching himself, Vegeta landed on his feet, filled with anguish and hatred for his enemy.

"**Aaaaaggghhhh!**" Energy surged throughout Vegeta, his gold aura expanding and pushing away the water and trash he stood in. Yet another war cry came from him, but his energy only built up so much as Dabura descended to watch his opponent's display of power. Sparks surged around Vegeta, as he came ever nearer to ascending.

"_Why... I'm so close? Why am I damned to this low level of power!_" The Demon King looked on, with no concern as to the mounting capabilities of Vegeta.

"Well, this is cute, but I think I'm going to have to end this little pony show," Dabura stated. Without further delay, he dashed as fast as he could at Vegeta. There was a boom as the two's fists met, but even in his heightened Super Saiyan power, Dabura was able to hit the warrior's face and send him into the waters.

"**Special beam cannon!**" A dark yellow beam guided by a spiral hit the demon's chest as Piccolo descended into the street. The impact of the beam shot up water in front of Dabura so that he couldn't see the Namekian fighter, who was picking up Vegeta. Hurriedly, he took off into the air to get to the top of a smaller store.

"I don't want your help, slug!" Vegeta exclaimed.

"We both know you can't take him on alone," Piccolo told the overly proud warrior.

"I can, in fact. I will ascend to levels of unparalleled power!"

"Sorry to interrupt, but," Dabura said, finishing his sentence with an upward slash of his sword. The two fighters scattered, raising their hands to charge their next attack.

"**Masenko Ha!\Galick Gun!**" they yelled, hitting the demon from two different angles and creating a cloud of smoke. As the smoke floated in the air with them, Dabura teleported in front of the Saiyan prince, kneeing him in the stomach and elbowing him down to the ground with a loud crash. In the next moment, he appeared at Piccolo, uppercutting him above the skyline of the dismayed West City. Following the Namek, Dabura raised his hand into Piccolo's chest. As forcefully as he could, Piccolo punched the demon's face and turned his head. Having little effect, Dabura looked back at his new enemy. Without a word, a dark red energy illuminated the area, and with a terrifying scream, Piccolo was sent away with a simple blast from the demon. But Dabura's torture wasn't done. Swiftly, he flew after Piccolo and grabbed his lapel.

"You think toying with demons has no consequence?"

* * *

"Oh my God..." Gohan said to himself, floating over the destruction of West City. "Someone who matched Vegeta and his newly ascended power... I'm not sure I can power to my fullest extent, maybe even more people would die. I need to lure him-"

"**Aaaaagggghhhh!**" The dying cry of the Saiyan's old teacher struck fear into the boy's heart, afraid that he was too late in his arrival. Quickly turning his head, he saw the Demon King sliced through half of Piccolo's body, and the remains were falling into oblivion.

* * *

A/N: Well, now we're back in business. Just a small thing I'd like to note: no, SSJ3 is not something I am thinking about right now for the story. Too early, and I personally think it was done wrong in Dragonball Z, because Goku was like "hey guys, I can power up so much, OMG!" I think it's out of context with the first two transformations, with their needing to be an emotional and mental change in the character. And yes, there are reasons Vegeta couldn't ascend.

Other than that, hope you all enjoyed!


	7. C7: Ambivalence

**Chapter Seven: Ambivalence**

Time seemed to freeze as Gohan stared at the menace in which caused much of the unnatural destruction of the city. A surge of hatred and anger filled his heart and fueled his power, an electric aura surrounding them though he did not show the physical signs of ascension.

"**Raaagghh!**" In an instant, the immense energy swelling in the boy propelled him towards the Demon King, a strike too fast to see sending Dabura flying through the sky. At any moment, it seemed, Gohan could simply ascend to a state of unrestrained power, but it seemed something was holding him back. Stopping himself with the extending of his limbs, Dabura looked at the newcomer.

"Yet another twig for the fire. I must admit, boy, you showed a great deal of strength in that punch, but I wonder how long you can sustain it for." Dabura gave a wry smile to compliment his words, still holding his blade. "Let's find out."

Much like he approached Piccolo or Vegeta, Dabura seemed to be instantaneously in front of Gohan. However, instead of going to hit the young Saiyan, he simply spat on his shirt. Slowly, the shirt began to solidify into something that it shouldn't be - stone.

"What the-" Gohan noticed just in time as he ripped his shirt off, letting it drop to the ground, but as it came over his face, Dabura took the opportunity to try and slice into the youth with his sword, but it simply went into a faded image of him. He disappeared, and the oddest look of confusion came over Dabura.

"What could possibly-" but to answer the question he was about to ask, Gohan dropped his elbow into Dabura's scalp, launching him into the building below. However, Gohan stayed in midair, trying to control his anger as the electric aura around him became increasingly intense.

"_How... how could I have let this happen? I'm supposed to be the protector of the Earth... now look. I failed all those people. I failed Dende, and Piccolo, and even... you, dad. And I won't let it happen again-_"

"**Aaaaagggghhhh!**" The explosion of rage caused the Earth to shake, even though Gohan was hundreds of feet above it. His gold aura expanded far beyond it's normal size, and yet another supernatural lightning storm came about, striking down into the city with a ferocity that seemed unmatched. The quaking of the ground was strong enough some buildings in West City began to fall over, beginning to level the city. Struck with fear, Dabura slowly rose into the sky, watching Gohan's display of ultimate power.

"Perhaps now would be the best time to leave and report what I've seen to the master. But I shall pick up what I came here for first," Dabura thought, descending rapidly into the city. As he made his way into the city, Gohan simply appeared before him to stop his advance.

"How did you even get here?" Dabura asked, confused and angered by the boy's bold challenge. As quickly as he could, Dabura went to stab Gohan. However, the boy plainly did nothing, with a lust for blood in his eyes. As the tip of the sword struck Gohan's stomach, the blade stopped. Continuing to push the weapon forward, the Demon King ended up shattering on Gohan's skin. The blade was then lifted by Dabura, stunned that something like this could even happen.

"Done playing around yet?" Dropping the remains of his sword, Dabura's growled angrily.

"I am Dabura, king of the Demon World," he began to say, a bluish green lightning striking him from the sky. For a moment, an electrical aura surrounded him of the same color, seemingly replenishing the demon's strength. With a laugh, Dabura's posture straightened and he looked intently at Gohan. Never had they suspected someone, a mortal, could be so strong. "I will not be treated by a child as if I'm a toddler's toy!" A red aura engulfed Dabura as he ascended further into the air, above Gohan in preparation for his next attack. Gohan followed the foe timidly with his eyes, and Dabura opened his mouth wide. A dark flame shot forward from the demon, threatening to go past the boy and spread further destruction to the city, as bad as it was already.

"Hmph." The move seemed mediocre to Gohan, who decided to dash around the blast of fire and approach his opponent behind. However, the boy's movement didn't go unnoticed, and Dabura teleported in front of him. Their fists met, then their knees, and the two engaged in a swift exchange of strikes where they were.

"_There is no way a little punk like him can have all this speed and strength. Where does it come from?_" Vegeta asked himself, standing atop a skyscraper and observing the beat-down his former opponent was receiving. "_He's just toying with him._"

Shockwaves scattered across the sky, and even dipped into the city. Each time the two collided in the streets, the streets below them would buckle, and the glass windows of buildings shatter. The city itself seemed to be cracking under the pressure of their fight. Becoming bored with the struggle, Gohan appeared in a street. Subsequently, Dabura did, and as his arm stretched to hit Gohan, the warrior put his hand up to catch the punch.

A long silence took the fray. For moments, neither moved an inch, as now it seemed to be a battle of wills as each anticipated the other's next move.

"What are you trying to accomplish?" Gohan finally questioned.

"Something far beyond your mortal comprehension." Raising his hand up to Gohan's face, Dabura quickly let a powerful energy wave forward, creating a profuse amount of dust between them as Gohan seemed to have fell to its intended effects. Resting while the moment permitted him to, Dabura breathed deeply. Breaking the demon's resting moments, a bright light could be seen forming from behind the cloud, and a beam of energy shot out towards him.

"What the-?" Caught off guard, the beam retracted instead of gone forward, and then shot out again. Walking forward, Gohan revealed himself from the veil of dust, his arm glowing like in the fight with Vegeta earlier in the day. Jabbing quickly a few times, Dabura managed to dodge three strikes, before he was hit to the ground by a heavy strike to the chest.

* * *

"Vegeta, where are you?" Bulma asked openly, panicking to find him. Trunks stood with her, as both of her parents look around the wasteland in which the two Saiyans fought in earlier.

"I think you'll just have to accept that he may not be coming home this time, dear," Mr. Briefs told his daughter, coming up behind her and placing his hand on her shoulder. Silence overtook the setting, the dark sky of night over them as West City was ablaze far away.

"Well... maybe he's in the city, remember the flashes of light we saw?" Bulma suggested hopefully.

"Maybe, but if chaos like that is going on, do you really think we should put ourselves in a battlefield for warriors far beyond humans?" Mr. Briefs asked, provoking thoughts for Bulma.

"I'm sure you'll get to be with him again when all this craziness is over," Mrs. Briefs tried to reassure cheerfully.

"No." Bulma turned back to the ship behind them, grabbing baby Trunks, and heading to board the aircraft.

"Bulma!" her father called to her, but it was useless. Sighing, he looked to his wife. "Well, let's not get stranded out here."

* * *

Continuing his assault, Gohan kept punching at the Demon King, as if it were a game to him now. Backed up against the wall of a building, the energy from Gohan smashed holes in the wall.

Observing from his quarters, Babidi looked with concern into his crystal ball. It seemed impossible that Dabura would be outmatched, and if he was defeated, who would then protect the grand wizard from his enemies?

* * *

"_How is it possible for a boy to have this much energy and skill? His energy is an extension of his body,_" Dabura noted, jumping back from a strike. As Gohan lunged in to strike the demon, his foe's body became faded; it was an afterimage. In the back of his mind, Gohan tracked every movement of the demon.

"There!" Gohan called out, thrusting his elbow backwards. Having the wind knocked out of him, Dabura was silent as he took the hit, becoming visible from the hit. Letting the energy that was concentrated on his arm dissipate, Gohan turned around and uppercut the demon, following his strikes with a barrage of ki blasts. Regaining some breath, Dabura began to dash up and dodge the ki blasts as they came up. Not able to dodge the last of them, Dabura turned around and stretched his arms out.

"**Ragh!**" Putting what energy he had into it, Dabura released a blast strong enough that when the two collided, an explosion shattered the foundations of the few buildings around it, toppling them completely. Once again, the demon's air was short and he was left gasping for breath. Looking up from his position, he saw the ascended Super Saiyan looking down upon him, his eyes piercing into the very essence of what the Demon King was.

"Is this too much for you?" Gohan taunted, looking at his opponent. Loaded with disdain, Dabura spit once again at the young Saiyan, but the demon's saliva went through the air and eventually to the ground; once again, Gohan had vanished. Kicking Dabura firmly in the back, Gohan grabbed his punching bag's arm, whirling him up overhead and bringing Dabura down to bash the demon's stomach once again with his shin. Letting go of him, Gohan raised his hand, about to finish the job.

As yellow energy built up in Gohan's hand, he stared at Dabura. Dabura floated in the air, his eyes closed accepting his fate.

"Leave," Gohan said.

"What-"

"Leave. I get nothing from killing you, go back to where you came from. If you were to ever threaten anyone on this planet again, I could just simply stop you. You're too weak." Without reply, Dabura collected himself, flying away from Gohan. Closing his eyes, Gohan's aura dissipated as he watched his enemy fly away. As the chaotic emotion escaped the boy, his hair turned dark once again. Turning away, he descended into the city, out of the sight of his defeated enemy.

"Piccolo! Vegeta! Where are you!"

* * *

A/N: So, some of you might say that Dabura is stronger than that. True, after he meditates for gratuitous amounts of time.

Other than that small note, I hope you enjoyed the seventh chapter of this.


End file.
